20 Dollars Mauritius Commercial Bank

The Mauritius Commercial Bank was established in 1838, making this note effectively a founding-year issue from one of the oldest surviving commercial banks in the southern hemisphere. Private bank paper from Mauritius at this date is exceptionally rare — the island's early banking history was marked by the failure of multiple institutions, and surviving notes from solvent issuers of the period represent a tiny fraction of original production.

Pick S124 falls within the chartered bank series documented in the specialized literature on Indian Ocean colonial issues. Documentation on signatories and exact print run is thin.